Pfizer Says COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shot Provides Immunity Against Omicron
Pfizer announced on Wednesday, December 8, that a booster dose of the company’s coronavirus vaccine may provide sufficient immunity against the new Omicron variant, even though immunity generated by the first two initial doses of the vaccine appears to be significantly reduced.
According to Associated Press, pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its partner, biotechnology company BioNTech, announced that although the first two doses of their vaccine may not provide sufficient immunity against the Omicron variant, their laboratory tests show that administering a booster dose increased the level of antibodies fighting the Omicron variant in an individual by up to 25 percent.
Blood samples taken from individuals one month after receiving the booster dose showed that neutralizing antibody levels against the Omicron variant are similar to the amounts that the two initial vaccine doses had produced against previous virus strains.
Scientists still do not know how dangerous the Omicron variant can be. Currently, the “highly contagious” Delta variant is responsible for most cases of COVID-19 and related deaths in the United States and other countries.
However, the Omicron variant, which was first identified in South Africa in late last month, unusually has a large number of mutations, and scientists are trying to quickly determine how easily and rapidly it spreads, whether the disease it causes is milder or more severe than previous variants, and to what extent it may resist previous vaccines and evade antibodies produced in the body.
Pfizer’s new findings, which were announced in a press statement, are preliminary and have not yet undergone scientific review. However, Pfizer and BioNTech are the first vaccine manufacturers to examine the booster dose, which health authorities are encouraging people to receive, to see whether it makes a significant difference in generating immunity.
Scientists speculate that the multiple mutations in antibodies that result from administering a third dose of coronavirus vaccine may reverse the reduced effectiveness of previous doses.
Pfizer and BioNTech are currently working on developing a specialized vaccine to combat the Omicron variant—if needed.
Source: Voice of America
